Reality TV shows now lean heavily on plus-size

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At 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, Luke Conley, the leading man at the center of Fox's latest reality dating show, is not your typical TV Prince Charming.

Chiseled features? Not so much. Six-pack abs? More like a beer gut. But don't think for a moment that he's bummed out about it.

“Life is too short,” he says, “to worry about counting calories.”

The self-assured Conley is the object of affection on “More to Love,” a “Bachelor”-like series in which he'll attempt to pluck the woman of his dreams from a group of 20 plus-size paramours. On TV these days, that's what's known as living large.

“More to Love” is the latest offering in a wave of shows that defy television's obsession with stick-figure model types to focus on heavier and curvier everyday folks. It's a trend fueled by the rousing success of NBC's “The Biggest Loser,” a reality series that champions large people who conquer their weighty issues.

Other shows in the genre include “Dance Your Ass Off,” an Oxygen reality series that has hefty contestants busting some moves and losing weight, and “Drop Dead Diva,” a lighthearted drama from Lifetime about a skinny bimbo who dies and wakes up in the body of a plus-size lawyer (Brooke Elliott).

And then there's “Ruby,” the absorbing Style channel docu-series that, in its second season, follows the exploits of 300-pound-plus Ruby Gettinger as she strives to lose weight and find balance in her life.

More than a decade after Camryn Manheim's famous “This is for the fat girls!” Emmy acceptance speech, television is waking up to the fact that the nation is comprised of more than Barbie and Ken dolls. At last, full-figured viewers can turn on their TV sets and see people who look like them – other than the token fat guy in a lame sitcom.

“People are looking for something new – something real,” Conley, a former college football player, said during a conference call interview. “People get tired of seeing the same thing all the time.”

Fortunately, the new shows don't equate mockery with entertainment value. The judges on “Dance Your Ass Off,” for example, are more Dr. Phil than Simon Cowell as they offer ego-boosting encouragement. And when one of the determined contestants nails a flashy routine, it's downright inspiring.

Inspiring, too, is the sight of Gettinger riding a bike for the first time in years and embracing new experiences as she learns to love herself. She reportedly has weighed as much as 716 pounds.

If Gettinger is indicative of the new-age reality star, there's reason to cheer. With her sparkly eyes, soft drawl and sweet nature, she's absolutely adorable – reminding everyone to check their biases at the door.

But newcomers to this brand of television should be warned: Expect some pain. Last week's opening episode of “More to Love” was filled with more tears than you'd ever see on Night 1 of “The Bachelor.” Many of the women, ranging in size from 14 to 22, broke down in front of the cameras as they confessed their fears and insecurities.

“This is my first date,” one misty-eyed contestant said. “ ... I have been waiting for this moment my entire life.”

Clearly, there's a brand of heartache in this show that feels very different from other reality fare, where tears so often are the result of a manufactured situation. Here, the pain exists whether the cameras are rolling are not.